1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compact, universal apparatus for supporting, lowering and launching either strike weapons or air combat weapons from within optimally sized weapons bays of advanced low signature fighter aircraft.
It is highly advantageous, particularly under combat conditions, to provide fighter aircraft with a means for supporting either strike weapons, such as large 2000 lb bombs of the GBU and JDAM classes for forced ejection therefrom, or air combat weapons or missiles such as "lock on after launch" (LOAL) air to air weapons such as ALM-20 missiles and "lock on before launch" (LOBL) weapons such as ALM-9 and AGM-65 Maverick missiles for rail launching therefrom.
It is also highly advantageous that such a support system be universal, to accommodate the simple latch up of inventory bail lug strike weapons such as 2000 lb class smart bombs, and be easily and rapidly modified with simple latch means to accommodate LOBL and LOAL rail launch weapons, and for the rapid conversion of the support, lowering and launching apparatus to alternatively employ forced ejection bombs and air combat weapons under combat conditions.
2. State of the Art
It is known to provide aircraft with means for supporting either strike or air combat weapons within weapons bays, and means for lowering such weapons out of weapons bays and for launching either type of such weapons while supported below the aircraft for safety purposes. However, such known systems generally are complex, difficult to load with the weapons, do not accommodate both strike weapons such as smart bombs and air combat weapons such as missiles within optimally sized weapons bays, or do not accommodate the conventional latch mechanisms of inventory bail lug strike weapons.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,764 for its disclosure of a reconfigured bay housing having folding doors which divide the housing into individual compartments for supporting, lowering and launching a variety of different LOAL and LOBL missiles as well as air-to-ground bombs from advanced low signature aircraft. The reconfigured bay housing of the aircraft includes linkage launchers, attached to the housing, for extending or lowering the weapons from the housing for launch. The linkage launchers can be attached to adaptors which are attached to missiles, or are attached to launch rails which are attached to missiles for rail launching. The reconfigured bay housing requires extensive modification of the optimally sized weapons bays present on conventional fighter aircraft, and the support, lowering and ejection apparatus does not accommodate the use of conventional BRU ejector racks which have latch up mechanism for receiving the bail lugs of conventional inventory strike weapons such as 2000 lb smart bombs, and for the forced ejection of such weapons therefrom.
Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,865 for its disclosure of a bomb ejector rack having standard aircraft armament characteristics, as used as a component of the present apparatus for the automatic latching and forced ejection of bombs and for the automatic latching and rail launching of missiles. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,958,260; 3,273,459; 4,008,645 and 4,600,171 for their disclosure of various support and scissors or trapeze linkage mechanisms for lowering weapons from weapons bays or below aircraft for launching.